The present invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring the thermal treatment or sterilization of bottles or similar containers in a container-treatment machine having a transport element that, for treatment at treatment stations, moves containers along a transport section between a container inlet and a container outlet, with thermal treatment of the containers being effected with a hot medium in at least a portion of the transport section.
The beverage industry frequently faces the problem of dispensing beverages, such as fruit juices or the like, in an unheated state and without the use of chemical additives into bottles in such a way that an adequate shelf life of the dispensed and sealed-off product is ensured. In order to accomplish this, the bottles, prior to introducing filling material therein, must have a high degree of sterility and freedom from bacteria.
In this connection, it is known to treat the interior of containers in a filling machine with hot sterilization medium in the form of steam directly prior to the filling phase and possibly prior to a pressurization phase that precedes the filling phase. To improve the quality of the sterilization, it has already been proposed to provide at the individual filling stations, i.e. at the filling elements of the filling machine that exist at that location, bells that completely accommodate the containers, especially during the sterilization phase (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,487, Clsserath).
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus with which it is possible to reliably monitor the thermal treatment or sterilization.